Houston Rockets: There are bright spots, but they still have a ways to go

HOUSTON – This is the Houston Rockets newsletter emailed out each week by the KPRC 2 Sports team. To subscribe, visit click2houston.com/newsletters.

Hello to our KPRC 2 viewers out there on this Friday morning in H-Town! This is KPRC 2 Sports Director Randy McIlvoy checking in with the latest on the Rockets.

I will be honest -- I have not personally seen a lot of our NBA squad the past two-and-a-half weeks because of my Astros playoff duties. That said, I have kept up, and although there are bright spots on this team, they still have a ways to go towards becoming even a slight playoff threat in the future. They are not close yet.

Who is standing out?

OK, this is easy to answer, and I will begin with the massive improvement from Alperen Sengun through the early stage of the season. Looks like he added weight and the kid is flat-out aggressive on the floor. I love how he gets to work and immediately makes an impact.  Can’t wait to see his continued development . He had 26 points and 10 boards Wednesday on the loss to LAC averaging 16.7 points per game on the season, hitting 56% of his FG.

Jalen Green is...well, Jalen Green so far. He’s not yet a guy opponents fear in crunchtime, but he’s certainly making huge strides.  He’s defending better and you can see clearly he has grinded in the gym during the offseason to work on his shot.  He is sitting at 19.3 points a game, but needs more consistency.

Overall, the Rockets are slow out of the gates, sitting at a 1-8 start to what is a big season for Head Coach Stephen Silas to show he can help these players grow and the Rockets to take a big step forward.

What’s ahead?

The Rockets’ stay at home was short. They then lost to the Clippers Wednesday. (They are on the road for four). Which leads me to believe they are progressing. Next up is a four-game road trip with stops in Minneapolis, followed by stops in Orlando, Toronto and New Orleans.

So, losing eight of their first nine is not ideal. They may keep this up and get worse before they get better. Can Silas survive? I think so and also believe he is the right coach for the job.

Things will eventually get better.